This Is Why Dr. Nandipha’s Court Application On Abduction Claims Hit A Postponement.
Dr. Nandipha Magudumana’s urgent court application to challenge the legality of her arrest in Tanzania has been rescheduled to next week.
The case was briefly addressed on Friday at the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein.
Presently, Magudumana is being held in custody at Kroonstad prison, facing allegations of aiding the escape of convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester from prison in May of the previous year.
The two were captured by Tanzanian authorities on April 7 and subsequently returned to South Africa to answer for the criminal charges stemming from the escape.
On May 19, Nandipha Magudumana’s legal team lodged documents with the Free State High Court, outlining her request for the court to declare her arrest and “abduction” in Tanzania, as well as her subsequent return to South Africa, as incorrect and unlawful.
Additionally, Magudumana seeks immediate release from prison and requests a judge to nullify all orders and warrants issued against her.
During the hearing on Friday, both the state’s legal representatives and Magudumana’s legal team presented a proposed court order to Judge Phillip Loubser.
The order suggested the inclusion of the Department of Home Affairs as a party in the litigation and requested a postponement of the matter to allow all parties involved to file their respective court documents.
Subsequently, Judge Phillip Loubser adjourned the case until June 1.
Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has been included as the sixth respondent in the proceedings. Motsoaledi is anticipated to submit opposing documents by Monday, May 29, while Magudumana’s legal team will file their response by Tuesday.
The court was informed that the state has not yet filed a response to Magudumana’s case.
Does Dr. Nandipha’s case have merit?
In her court documents, Magudumana asserts that she was “abducted from a foreign state and brought to South Africa where she was detained.”
According to Karyn Maughan’s article on News24, published on Friday, there is a possibility that Magudumana could convince the court that the manner in which she was returned to South Africa after her arrest in Tanzania was indeed unlawful.
The Tanzanian authorities issued a “notice to prohibit immigrant, Dr. Nandipha Magudumana,” which required her to depart the country within three days. However, Magudumana’s legal team argues that she never received the document and was not given the full three days to consider her options before being handed over to the South African authorities. It is this handover process that Magudumana’s lawyers contend to be unlawful, as stated by Maughan.
However, during a media briefing on Monday, Motsoaledi said that Magudumana’s detention was lawful.
“Dr Nandipha Magudumana and Thabo Bester were declared prohibited immigrants in terms of the immigration laws of Tanzania and were, therefore, as a matter of law, liable to be deported back to their country of origin. The same procedure was followed for the Mozambican national who was in their company,” Motsoaledi said.